By Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, and Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon | September 19, 2000

During our decades in public office, the two of us differed from time to time. Not surprisingly, we are taking separate paths in this presidential election. But we have consistently agreed that one of the essentials to good government--perhaps the most crucial factor--is an informed citizenry. That is why we are enthusiastically co-chairing a bipartisan, broadly based effort that we hope will lead to the establishment of an Illinois version of C-SPAN. We are calling upon our elected officials--including those seeking re-election or election to the General Assembly this year--to pledge their support for this venture.

Forget the hoopla about "The Sopranos" on HBO or "Ally McBeal" on Fox since the best thing on television, as the Nov. 8 Weekly Standard purports, is a weird and enriching series on C-SPAN called "The American Presidents." Starting last March, the cable network has profiled a president each week, usually going to his birthplace or library/museum or some spot associated with him, mustering interesting experts and family members and telling all about the guy's life over the course of two or three hours.

Student Gigi Ali would rather serve soup to needy people in the inner city than make speeches at an awards ceremonies. Earlier this month, however, the Andrew High School junior put her ladle and apron aside to introduce Dan Glickman, the U.S. secretary of agriculture, at the National Summit on Community Food Security held in Chicago. Madeline Gabry, the high school's community services coordinator, suggested Ali's name for the distinction based on her community volunteerism as well as her honors class scholastic achievement.

Hackers who earlier claimed responsibility for computer attacks against ABC and C-SPAN vandalized the Web site run by Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge. The group, calling itself "United Loan Gunmen," replaced Drudge's main page late Monday night with a message saying they "take control of Mike (sic) Drudge's data stockyard to once again show the world that this is the realm of the hacker." Drudge could not be reached for comment. The site was repaired less than one hour after it was altered.

These are the dog days. Things are so slow in the capital that: - Twenty minutes have passed without a fax from the Gary Bauer for President Campaign; 10 minutes without an e-mail from Steve Forbes. - Rep. Robert Barr (R-Ga.) has not called for the impeachment of President Clinton in a week. - The Tribune's Washington television unit spent Friday laboring on a story about roller coaster safety. - The Washington Post ran a front-page story Friday declaring that "New revelations about Russian money laundering through a major U.S. bank have presented Vice President Gore with a potentially difficult campaign issue and once again illustrated the pitfalls of running for the White House from the vice president's chair."

The TV show's format is simple. A roomful of politicians ask questions of the elected leader. The time slot is 11 p.m. Sunday, following the network's lead-in -- a lengthy interview with the author of a book usually titled something like, "A Contemporary View of the Pre-World War I Industrial Movement in the Balkans." It's a good thing that the C-SPAN network's weekly airing of "Prime Minister's Questions" from London isn't driven by ratings. The show promises all the thrills of a suburban park board meeting on local access cable.

Brian Lamb, American television's Anti-Springer, is an unlikely player in the impeachment trial of President Clinton. But he may, sadly, be whistling in the malodorous capital wind when it comes to whether anybody but a few functionaries will watch 100 U.S. senators deliberate the fate of Clinton. The "trial of the century," which formally started last week, will unfold in earnest shortly. Despite the seeming spinelessness of your representatives, there may even be witnesses, though don't bet a week's salary after the suspiciously chummy and intentionally vague bipartisan agreement reached Friday on procedures.

Long before they turned off the lights at the House of Representatives early Saturday, the debate on whether to impeach President Clinton reached a level of redundancy to test the patience of even the most dedicated civics teacher or C-SPAN viewer. A 12-hour debate was as histrionic as historic, with repeated and melodramatic warnings from Democrats of a "bloodless coup" by the Republicans, while the GOP derided the minority for turning its back on "the rule of law." "This is about justice and the rule of law," Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.

"You know, if I were thinking of retirement, I don't think you'd be the first person I'd tell about it." --Chief Justice William Rehnquist, when C-SPAN interviewer Brian Lamb asked about speculation that he may retire soon. "In France, doctors don't normally ask patients for their penal record before operating on them." --Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard, co-leader of the surgical team that did a rare hand transplant on a man who was later revealed to be an ex-convict who currently faces fraud charges in Australia.